Weapon Mechanics
=Attack Power= The Attack Power is the raw damage done without the aid of elements or secondary status effects. It is important to favor raw damage over elemental damage and secondary statuses because raw damage is universal and has more weight in most cases (100 points of raw damage is worth more than 100 points of element damage). Attack power also effects how an attack is blocked. The difference is most noted in the Sword and Shield. A weapon like the Hunter's Knife will likely have a large reel, a huge decrease in stamina, and a larger health loss when blocking an attack than a much stronger Sword and Shield, which will have a small reel, a smaller decrease and stamina, and little to no loss in health. This was discovered during an armorless test. =Affinity= Affinity is a hunter's chance to deal either more or less damage with a weapon attack. It is measured in percentages, and varies based on weapons, armor, and skills. A positive affinity means attacks have that percentage chance to use 125% attack power, while a negative affinity is the chance to use 75% attack power. Some monsters can cause a status condition which lowers affinity temporarily. Note: Affinity doesn't effect element, shelling, crag S or clust S; however, affinity does affect status-inflicting weaponry. While they may both appear under weapon element, they are considered separate in comparison to one another as far as the game coding and mechanics are concerned. =Sharpness= Sharpness is the sharpness of a melee weapon, represented by the color of the little blade near the clock on the game interface. It is a very simple scalar variable which increases attack power by a percentage. Also, the sharpness influences the chance of your weapon bounce on hard body parts of a monster. A Gravios back shell for example can only be penetrated by white, or not even purple when on a G-ranked quest. The head of a Barroth is only penetrable with blue or above, while elsewhere on its body green sharpness will work. Additionally, bouncing will prevent you from chaining attacks. =Slots= Like armor pieces, weapons may or may not have empty slots where decoration jewels can be placed to supplement a skill tree. Damage Formula To calculate the damage for weapons in Monster Hunter 3 go here Monster Hunter 3 Damage Formula. On this Page, you will find the exact description on how damage you deal with your weapon: MHFU Monster Damage Formula. (Under construction) =Element= Main Article: 'Element'' '''Elements are the secondary damage that is done. Like raw damage, it is done directly. How much the element effects a monster is dependent on the monster's weaknesses. In MH3, monster's element attacks now inflict status conditions, known as Blights. The elements are fire, water, thunder, dragon and ice. Each of these Blights will cause different effects and can be increased or decreased due to weaknesses and resistances. Each link directs to a page with more specific information. =Special Attack Attribute= The types of special attack attributes that weapons may have. See also Status Effects Elemental Resistances Sharpness Elderseal Element Category:Weapons